The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) has issued the following statement from President René Jansen in de Wal in response to the 2025 provincial budget:

“The Ford Conservative government’s proposed budget fails to address more than seven years of relentless cuts to schools – chronic underfunding that has failed students, teachers, and all Ontarians. Now more than ever we should not be looking to replicate failed schemes that lead to privatization. Instead, we should be taking pride in our public institutions and world-class publicly funded education system – they help define what it means to be Canadian.

Everything that we are proud of starts in the classroom – as Ontarians and as Canadians. This government needs to recognize that ‘Made in Canada’ is about more than just products – it is about people, and it starts in our publicly funded public schools.

Catholic teachers are beyond frustrated that Doug Ford is yet again attempting to deceive Ontarians with disingenuous claims of ‘record investments’ in education, while our students and schools face a growing crisis from years of inflationary cuts.

Instead of focusing on what students really need to succeed, the Ford government continues to target our underfunded school boards, using the budget to once again try to obscure its history of failures and cuts that have caused:

• Overcrowded classrooms
• 3,500 fewer teachers and a growing teacher recruitment and retention crisis
• Rising violence in schools
• More than 2,000 schools in disrepair
• A lack of basic school supplies, like paper, pencils, and textbooks
• $1,500 less in per-student funding – over $3 billion less for schools across Ontario

Catholic teachers love teaching. More than anything, we want to be doing the job we love in a learning and working environment that helps students to thrive. But to be at our best, we need a government that makes publicly funded education and students a priority.

A real plan to protect Ontario – to invest in our future – must focus on student success and fostering healthier schools for students and teachers alike. Catholic teachers call on this government to invest in safe and modern schools; implement a real plan to address the teacher shortage; lower class sizes so students get more dedicated, one-on-one attention; and enhance mental health services in schools, with expanded school-based resources, supports, and services.

Instead of actively eroding our world-class publicly funded education system, we call on the Ford government to meaningfully work with teachers, education workers, and parents, so that we can best support our students and invest in the place where our future starts – our schools.”

- René Jansen in de Wal, President of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association